JONESBORO, Ark. — An Arkansas man who spent 19 years in a coma before regaining consciousness in 2003 has died at the age of 57, according to his obituary.
Terry Wayne Wallis, whom doctors thought would never regain full consciousness following a 1984 car accident, died March 29 at a long-term care facility in Searcy, Arkansas, NBC News reported.
Wallis, dubbed “The Man Who Slept for 19 Years,” recognized his mother when he regained consciousness and asked for milk and Pepsi, according to news reports at the time.
“His mother and all of his family cared for him relentlessly during his coma and afterwards. His family would bring him home on alternate weekends for years. Doctors believe that this stimulation contributed to his awakening period,” Wallis’ obituary, published by Roller Funeral Homes, stated.
According to KAIT, family and friends gathered Friday to honor the man “whose name has gone down in history and medical books.”
His brother, George Wallis, who was 12 at the time of the car accident, told the TV station that even though doctors thought Terry Wallis might not pull through, his miraculous recovery was no surprise to him.
“(Terry) could make anything work, I don’t care what it was. He could make anything work. Something that everyone else had given up on he could make it work again,” George Wallis told KAIT, attributing the past two decades of family time to that determination.
Although his mother, Angilee Wallis, died in 2018, Terry Wallis is survived by his father, Jerry Wallis; daughter, Amber Wallis, who was just six weeks old when the accident occurred; grandchildren: Victoria Wallis, Blazen Wallis and Arrow Wallis; siblings: George Wallis (Lindsey), Perry Wallis (Dianna Ford) and Tammy Baze (Richard Harness); and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
“Everyone really loved (Terry). He was just as fine a kid as you could find anywhere,” Jerry Wallis, his father, told KAIT.